The Siege of Yazidis in Sinjar Mountains Broken by Peshmerga

Hundreds of Yazidis in Iraq, who had been trapped for months by ISIS militants in the Sinjar Mountains, were finally able to move from the mountains to safe areas following the victory of Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the region. On Friday, December 19, the German news agency reported that hundreds of Yazidis were descending from the mountains where they had taken refuge. It is said that about ten thousand Yazidis had sought shelter in the Sinjar Mountains. Over the past two days, eight thousand Kurdish Peshmerga, supported by airstrikes from the US-led coalition, which the German news agency referred to as one of the 'heaviest airstrikes' against ISIS, managed to push back Islamic militants from around the Sinjar mountains. ISIS forces had attacked areas where tens of thousands of Yazidis lived in September of this year, committing widespread massacres and forcing thousands to seek refuge in the Sinjar Mountains. The scale of the Yazidi massacre was such that the German news agency states it was one of the reasons for the initiation of US air operations against ISIS in Iraq. American forces, along with a coalition of several Arab and European countries, began airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq a month later. Masrour Barzani, head of Kurdish intelligence, stated that the progress of the Peshmerga has broken the siege of Sinjar at the Syrian border. According to him, the Kurds have reached Mount Sinjar and have retaken eight surrounding villages from ISIS. Mr. Barzani added that around eighty extremist militants were killed in the clashes in Zumar and Rabia. He stated that this attack was the largest military operation against ISIS that was met with significant success. Mohammad Kujar, a Peshmerga commander, also mentioned that there is now a safe route for Yazidis to leave the mountains and move to calm and secure areas. In this context, Holger Giesler, spokesperson for the Yazidi Council, told the German news agency that Yazidis who had taken refuge in the mountains are now descending and relocating to the Kurdish city of Duhok. He said that there are probably seven thousand citizens and three thousand armed Yazidis in the Sinjar mountains. However, Kujar stated that the transfer of Yazidis began on Friday and they could completely descend from the mountains starting tomorrow. ISIS still controls the city of Sinjar and several surrounding villages. In this context, three senior ISIS commanders were reported killed in US airstrikes.